Battle of the 6th Men

[da_suns_fan__]

I agree that Ginobili isn't really a 6th man.

And he's also playing like an MVP right now.

Anyone still want to say that Tony Parker is MVP material?

[velik_m]

Boki will win the 6th man of the year!

[sa_butta]

I agree that Ginobili isn't really a 6th man.

And he's also playing like an MVP right now.

Anyone still want to say that Tony Parker is MVP material?

Finals MVP material is good enough.

[SpursFanFirst]

I still don't understand why Manu didn't win it last year and why more Spurs fans weren't mad when he didn't. He was eligible for the award and it went to Barbosa, who is about 20% of the player Manu is.

I agree that he "qualified" to win this award...and certainly, I wish he would've won (just like I hope he wins this year)...but could it be that people see him as a starter and part of the big 3 that he'll never win this award?

[SpursFanFirst]

Manu may have been eligible by the rule ... I think he was 2 or 3 games above the eligibility rule?

But everyone knows that he is one of the top 3 players on the team. Typically ... a 6th man, is literlarly the 6th or 7th best player on a team. With Manu, it's almost like bringing in a ringer to win an award.

If he plays the entire year ... Vs. just over 50% ... as a 6th man this year, I suppose I'd give him the nod. But I still think it takes away from the idea of the award.

To me it's a little disingenuous.

exactly.

[SpursFanFirst]

Bruce not winning DPOY is what had me upset!

[SpursDynasty]

Dallas is copying SA's formula: Using a starter as a sixth man.

I guess when you can't win a championship, you have to copy the real championship teams of the league.

[TMTTRIO]

After watching the last few games it looks like we have a deep, deep bench this year and Bonner, Udoka, Barry, and Washington could bring a lot of the energy that we've always needed from Manu off the bench. Do you think maybe it's almost time for Manu to start again?

[Mr.Bottomtooth]

Dallas is copying SA's formula: Using a starter as a sixth man.

I guess when you can't win a championship, you have to copy the real championship teams of the league.

Pure gold.

[T Park]

Spurs Dynasty with a nice little jab there

[K-State Spur]

Call me an optimist (not that I actually care about this award much), but I actually think he's the front runner, even with the media.

I think he would have won it last year if he hadn't started as many games as he did. If he comes off the bench the entire season this year, I think he'll get it.[

[J.T.]

Bruce not winning DPOY is what had me upset!

Bruce has something greater than DPOY, I think. Everyone around the league respects his approach to playing defense. A few guys say he's dirty, but look at his critics... Ray Allen, Amare, Isaiah Thomas... I don't put much stock in anything those guys say. Bruce will go down as one of the greatest defensive NBA players ever, and the more rings he wins, the bigger his legacy becomes.

[Russ]

Never seen such depth as the Spurs have now -- they could have their own sixth man of the year battle.

[milkyway21]

I agree that Ginobili isn't really a 6th man.

And he's also playing like an MVP right now.

Anyone still want to say that Tony Parker is MVP material?

I agree, Manu isn't really a 6th-man. And he's NOT a point guard either. But he leads the Spurs in assists with 6.5 per game . He is 12th in the league in both assists per game and in assists per 48 minutes. All 11 players above him in assists per game are point guards.

Ginobili seems to have a "knack" finding Elson near the basket right now acc. to reports and if that's true that chemistry between them is scary for other teams as this season progresses.

Ginobili leads the Spurs in scoring with 23.0 points per game, 20th in the league in PPG right now.

and those above him in scoring per game are averaging more minutes than Manu.

I really like the idea of seeing Manu holding a 6th-man trophy in the future. I was silent but really disappointed (not really mad), he lost to Barbosa last yr. Well, he got his revenge, he played better than Barbosa when we faced the Suns, your team in the 2nd round.

[ManuAddicted]

At this time, and taking account of so many les he won, considering him as a 6th man is an 'insult'... But, because Spurs' roster is very deep, 5 starters aren't enough

Anyway, he deserves an MVP more than a 6th man award.

[milkyway21]

whoa after last night's game Manu actually upgraded his assts to an ave. of 7.5 assts per game?

simply amazing!

[wildchild]

I still don't understand why Manu didn't win it last year and why more Spurs fans weren't mad when he didn't. He was eligible for the award and it went to Barbosa, who is about 20% of the player Manu is.

I couldn't agree more.

[vz0731]

Everyone knows that Manu is not the 6th real 6th man. That was the reason why he didnt win this le last year.

Also I think this le is not important for him.

[nkdlunch]

6th man is a ty award.

[roycrikside]

Who cares? Manu himself had the best response to this bogus award, calling it akin to, "Being named the best left-handed guard" or something.

It doesn't matter who starts games, it matters who finishes them, so I don't really consider him eligible for the award as a true bench player. With Phoenix you can easily imagine Barbosa on the bench in a tight game with all the guys they got like Bell, Hill, Nash, Marion, Amare, Diaw...

[Help A Brother Out]

Just win, es.

[PlaneFast]

Paul Pierce is on the second team for the Celtics this year. I think he'll win the sixth man award. Looks like Doc Rivers is copying the Spurs strategy for using the second team.

PlaneFast

[roycrikside]

Paul Pierce is on the second team for the Celtics this year. I think he'll win the sixth man award. Looks like Doc Rivers is copying the Spurs strategy for using the second team.

PlaneFast

http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=271102002

They've played one game so far and Pierce started and played 39 minutes. I think you misunderstood the Rivers quote. From what I gather, I think Rivers plans to rest Pierce earlier than KG and Allen so that when the 2nd quarter begins and those guys are resting, Pierce can check back in and play with the 2nd unit.

The Bulls would do the same thing with Pippen or MJ where one would always be on the court at all times, unless it was a blowout.

[raspsa]

Jason Terry just had an outstanding game to help beat the Rockets. Let's see how Manu responds next game.
Overall, I think the compe ion is probably a notch tougher this season and the Spurs will need to rely on their bench even more if they hope to win a 5th ring.

[Holt's Cat]

Spurs take the ring and a Sun takes the 6th man. Works for me.